Songbook
by Gohan Roxas
Summary: Written for SoKai Day 2012. Sora's a superstar singer-songwriter. Kairi's a cleaner at the recording studio, whose hobby is singing. So what happens when the two of them meet up? AU. SoKai, obviously. Rated T for language and themes.


_**It is the 17**__**th**__** of September here in Australia, which means it's SoKai Day! XD**_

_**So here's my SoKai Day oneshot. Enjoy.**_

**Songbook**

_**For SoKai Day 2012**_

Women wanted him and men wanted to be him. At first glance, you'd think that Sora Fair had it all. A successful music career, superstar parents in the form of Zack Fair and Aerith Gainsborough… But you'd be wrong. Because there was one thing he didn't have, the one thing he _really _wanted: a girlfriend.

Sure, there were thousands of girls hanging on his every word, the ones who called themselves the Fair Maidens, but they were obsessive. When rumours had begun to spread of a budding romance between him and _Wutai's Next Top Model_ winner Yuffie Kisaragi she got death threats through Wark.

Today, though, he had to avoid sad thoughts, and even had to push the thoughts of his _friend_ Yuffie from his mind. Because today he was here to record his new song.

"Good morning, Mr Fair," the secretary greeted him in a sultry voice.

"Scarlet," he replied indifferently.

"Mr Shinra's waiting for you in the recording studio," Scarlet continued. She leaned forward to reveal what was behind the _very _low cut of her dress. "I'm waiting for you, too," she added in a throbbing voice.

Sora picked up his guitar case and moved towards the recording studio's entrance. "Yeah, well, keep waiting." He didn't see Scarlet's disappointed pout, nor did he see the pretty, auburn-haired girl in a cleaner's uniform who walked up to the secretary.

"Morning, Miss Scarlet," she greeted in a cheerful voice.

Scarlet looked up at the cleaner, a sneer on her face. "Oh… It's you. You're a bit early, aren't you?"

The girl shrugged. "We need the cash, so I'm doing overtime."

Scarlet scoffed. "Whatever." She pulled out a magazine and a pen and commenced a crossword puzzle, completely ignoring the other woman.

The auburn shrugged again and went to the cleaner's area of the building.

**KH**

Scarlet, for all her lusty airs, wasn't lying about one thing: Rufus Shinra _was_ waiting for him in the recording studio. "Sora, good to see you again," he said with exaggerated joy.

Sora shook his hand. "Good to see you too, Rufus." He put his guitar down on the floor.

"We've got a full day ahead," Rufus explained. "Not only are you here to record the new song, but we'd like it if you could re-record some of your old songs for a 'Best-Of' album."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Well, if we're gonna do that, I've actually got a second new song we can do."

Rufus grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Excellent. Let's get started."

Sora recorded the new songs, _The A Team _and _50 Ways to Say Goodbye_, first. He then, by Rufus' request, recorded some older songs: specifically, _Here Without You_, _Arafax Deep_ and _Behind Blue Eyes_.

"Excellent," Rufus said through the mic after _Behind Blue Eyes _was finished. "We're done for the day."

Sora checked his watch. _18:45_, it read. "I've been here for 6 hours?!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"Looks like it." Rufus looked directly at him. "Do you need a car to take you home?"

"Probably," Sora lamented. "I don't think that the cab will have stuck around."

Rufus nodded decisively. "I'll get Scarlet on it immediately."

"_Scarlet?!_" Sora protested. "The last time she was alone with me she practically tried to rape me! What's to stop her this time?!"

The older man chuckled. "I told her off from last time. Nothing to worry about."

Sora eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing.

**KH**

Scarlet met him out the front of the studio shortly after. She casually grabbed his hand and led him down a corridor. "Come on, I'll show you somewhere we can…arrange a car," she purred.

Sora ripped his hand from her grip. "Fine, but no touchy."

Scarlet gave him a look over her shoulder.

Eventually they reached a door, which Scarlet held open. "After you."

Sora gave her a suspicious look and stepped into the room.

All that was in the room was a king-size bed and one lamp. There wasn't even a phone. "Scarlet, we can't…" he protested, turning.

He wasn't able to continue his sentence, because Scarlet had clamped her lips to his.

He pushed her off. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he demanded.

"Something I should've done a long time ago," she whispered into his ear, presumably in what she thought was a sexy gesture. She began to roll down the straps of her dress and pushed him onto the bed.

"Scarlet, get the hell offa me!" he yelled. Again, Scarlet stopped his protests with a forced kiss.

"Scarlet, if you don't get off me now, I swear I'll…" He let out a hoarse gasp as she grabbed a certain part of his anatomy.

"Ooh, you like that, don't you…" she murmured. She got closer to him, appearing eager to kiss him again.

_Oh God, I'm gonna hate myself for this_, he lamented privately. He pushed the woman off of him, and she hit her head on the bedpost. She went limp.

"Oh, shit!" Sora panicked. He checked her quickly. Still breathing, pulse normal, no blood. Good, she wasn't dead. He redid his pants, fixed his shirt and left the room in a hurry.

He spotted Rufus as he rushed down the stairs. "Rufus!"

The older man looked up at him. "Sora? What are you still doing here?"

"Long story short, Scarlet tried to rape me, I accidentally knocked her unconscious, now she's out cold on a bed upstairs."

"What?!" Rufus' eyes boggled.

"You heard me. I really gotta go. I'll call a cab or something." He brushed past Rufus and bolted towards a back entrance.

**KH**

Meanwhile, completely oblivious to the commotion nearby, the auburn-haired cleaner went about her business, mopping the floor and engaging in her hobby: singing.

_When I find myself in times of trouble,_

_Mother Mary comes to me_

_Speaking words of wisdom, "Let it be."_

Nearby, unbeknownst to her, Sora was feverishly searching for an exit, still shaken from his encounter with Scarlet. He stopped when he heard a singing voice. And a beautiful one at that.

_And in my hour of darkness,_

_She is standing right in front of me_

_Speaking words of wisdom, "Let it be."_

The woman was blissfully unaware of his presence, and as such kept singing her heart out. She even resisted the temptation to sing into the mop handle.

_Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be_

_Whisper words of wisdom, "Let it be."_

"That's some set of pipes you've got there," a voice called behind her. She gasped and turned around.

Standing there, one hand in his pocket, the other clutching his guitar case, was Sora Fair. "What was that? The Moogles?"

"Y-yeah," she replied, flustered. "It's one of my favourites."

"Hey, mine too!" He smiled at her, and she blushed. "Say… I'm working on a new song…but it's a duet with a girl. You have a _really _good voice, and I was thinking that maybe you might wanna help me out?"

She stared at him. "Do you tell all the singing cleaning ladies you meet this?"

He stepped forward. "Only the pretty ones." She blushed again.

"B-but… Y-you don't even know my name…" she stammered.

He gripped her hand silently. "Then tell me."

Her face became the exact same shade as her hair. "Kairi. Kairi Branford."

The hand Sora was clasping came in contact with his lips. "Pleasure to meet you, Kairi, Kairi Branford."

She giggled.

He checked his watch quickly. "Oh man, I gotta go. Here." He pulled out a small card and handed it to her. "Call me," he winked, mimicking a phone with his right hand.

Dumbly, Kairi nodded.

Sora grinned at her as he left.

**KH**

_Dammit, Sora, were you just flirting with some girl you hardly know? _he berated himself silently. _You complete idiot. She probably thinks you're a freak, or a lech, or worse… A celebrity like those ones off that stupid reality show _Costa del Sol.

It had been about two hours since his encounter with Kairi Branford. Sora had picked up Wutaiian food for his dinner, but it was inferior quality, so he was already starting to feel ill.

His phone started to ring. The Deadpool theme from _Marvel vs. Capcom 3 _started reverberating through the house. He wormed his way towards his phone and grabbed it. "Hello?" he asked in a drowsy voice.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" a voice he immediately recognised as Kairi's asked nervously.

"No, no, you didn't. I just had some bad Wutaiian food; it's making me feel sick."

"Oh, man, that sucks."

"Yeah, doesn't it just? To what do I owe the pleasure, Miss Branford?"

"You recognise my voice?" She sounded shocked.

Sora laughed. "Once you've heard that voice once, you remember it. Trust me." Even though he couldn't see her face, he was pretty sure she was blushing.

"I, uh… I just wanted to know if you were serious before. You know, about the offer?" she asked then.

"Oh, yeah. I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't serious about it. You've got a great voice. It'll be perfect for this song. Well, once the song's done, anyway."

"Well, if you want, I can help you out."

"Meaning…"

"I could apply for some time off from work, come to your place and help you write the song."

"You'd do that?" He frowned. "But don't you need money for something? I heard something like that after I escaped from Scarlet the first time."

"Oh, I'm sure my mom would understand… I hope…"

"Well, you'd get paid for helping me out with the song, both writing and recording. Maybe…a million munny?"

"_A million munny?!_" she shouted so loudly that he had to hold the phone away from his ear.

"Well, yeah. You interested?"

She made some show of clearing her throat. "I don't have anything better to do. When do you want to start?"

"Next week. I think it's gonna take me that long to get the taste of this Wutaiian food outta my mouth."

She giggled. "Next week it is."

**KH**

The day had come for Kairi's input to the song to begin. It was a normal day, apart from the dark clouds overhead. She was completely poleaxed by the sheer size of Sora's house. It was at least double the size of the house she shared with her mother.

He was waiting for her at the front door. Wearing worn jeans and a shirt that read 'The dinosaurs still exist. They're on a spaceship,' Sora was grinning as she came into view. "Like what you see?" he asked.

She blushed and didn't respond.

His eyebrows shot up. "I meant the house."

"Oh! Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I love it." _Dammit, Kairi! He's a superstar. As if he's gonna flirt with someone like you. Get your head outta the clouds._

"Great." He vacated the doorway. "Welcome to my humble abode," he said ironically, bowing.

She smiled at him as she walked into the house.

It looked even bigger on the inside than it did from the outside. Kairi's breath nearly stopped, she was so shocked.

Sora walked past her and sat down on the long couch, clutching his worn acoustic guitar. "You can sit, you know." He indicated the seat next to him.

"Oh. Sorry." She blushed. _Focus, Kairi! You're here for a reason. A very…attractive reason… Dammit! Now you've got me doing it!_

"So I've only been able to write the chorus and the parts for the guy so far," Sora began. "So I was wondering if you could just listen to my parts, then add your own. That okay?"

Kairi nodded.

"Cool," he smiled, and she almost melted. "Here we go." He licked his lower lip and started strumming.

_Do you hear me? I'm talking' to you_

_Across the water, across the deep blue_

_Ocean, under the open sky, oh my_

_Baby, I'm trying'._

She shyly joined in with her own part of the verse she'd miraculously come up with.

_Boy, I hear you in my dreams_

_I feel you whisper across the seas_

_Keep you with me in my heart_

_You make it easier when life gets hard._

Sora grinned at her. "Okay, chorus now," he said shortly and nodded to the piece of paper in front of them. They both sang in a harmony.

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend_

_Lucky to have been where I have been_

_Lucky to be coming home again_

Sora added some vocal ad-lib, then indicated to Kairi that she should lead into the next verse.

_They don't know how long it takes_

Once she'd reached halfway through the line, he'd joined in from the start of the line in a call-and-response. They smiled at each other as they continued.

_Waiting for a love like this_

_Every time we say goodbye,_

_I wish we had one more kiss_

_I'll wait for you, I promise you_

_I will_

Sora went falsetto with more vocal ad-libbing before they repeated the chorus, adding another part to it.

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend_

_Lucky to have been where I have been_

_Lucky to be coming home again_

_Lucky we're in love every way_

_Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed_

_Lucky to be coming home someday_

Sora looked directly into her eyes as he sang the next verse. Kairi often joined in during his section to cover her nervousness.

_And so I'm sailing through the sea_

_To an island where we'll meet_

_You'll hear the music fill the air_

_I'll put a flower in your hair_

He nodded to her to indicate that the next part was all hers.

_Though the breezes through the trees_

_Move so pretty you're all I see_

_As the world keeps spinning round_

_You hold me right here right now_

They smiled at each other again as they once more repeated the chorus.

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend_

_Lucky to have been where I have been_

_Lucky to be coming home again_

_I'm lucky we're in love every way_

_Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed_

_Lucky to be coming home someday_

They ended it with vocal ad-lib, together, and ended up simply staring at each other in silence. Kairi's face started to colour, and Sora's looked slightly like it was too.

"Okay, you want a drink?" Sora asked, breaking the awkward silence as he got up and moved to the fridge. "We might need some energy to write up your parts."

"Uh, sure." _Why didn't you kiss him?! He wanted to! Dammit, Kairi! You are useless at this sort of thing! Ah, great. I _was_ focused on doing the job, then getting out. Now look at me! You and your stupid hormones!_

**KH**

_Dammit, Sora! Why didn't you kiss her?! She wanted you to! Now I see why you've never had a girlfriend before. It's because you suck at being with girls!_

It had been about half an hour after the end of the awkward moment between him and Kairi. The song was written down, but apparently Kairi had told her mother that she'd be home during the night. As a result, her mother, whose name was Tina, had gone out for the day.

Thunder rumbled above them, and raindrops began to drop heavily on the roof. "Well," Sora drawled, "looks like you're not getting home tonight."

Kairi blushed, again, but said nothing.

"I didn't mean that in a, er, predatory way or anything, I just…" he floundered.

"I know," she interrupted, looking at him with her violet eyes. "You don't want me to get hurt or anything, right?"

"Y-yeah." He suddenly found it difficult to stand up straight. It was like his legs had turned to jelly.

"Well…" she patted the couch. "I'll just sleep here."

He stared at her briefly before darting into his room.

Kairi was confused. She stared after him, wondering what he was doing.

He came back with a _big _white shirt that had a design that read 'SOLDIER: Midgar Comic-Con 1996'.

"What is that?" Kairi asked.

"It was my dad's," Sora explained. "You can use it for, er, pyjamas of a sort, if you want."

Kairi got up and pinched his cheek. "You just want to see me without pants on, don't you?" she teased.

His face turned beet red.

She laughed openly, grabbed the shirt from his hands and walked off. She stopped as she reached the doorway, looking back at him with a question in her eyes.

He recovered enough to respond. "Last door on the left."

"Thanks," she smiled sweetly. With that she walked off.

**KH**

Kairi returned about ten minutes later, wearing the baggy shirt. Sora's breathing turned hoarse as she walked towards him.

She sat close, her hand resting lightly next to his. "Why did you give me this thing?" she asked, plucking at the shirt.

He wrestled with his hormones before answering. "I just wanted you to know that I'm here to help you, not…er, you know…take advantage of you."

She blushed, not that he noticed. She turned his head to face her. "Well…" she murmured with feigned confidence. "What if I wanted you to take advantage?"

"What?"

Her reply was to kiss him.

_Yes! Finally! _their minds screamed in unison.

They lost themselves in the kiss, but that was as far as it went. They never removed each other's clothing, they never touched each other's 'sensitive areas'… They simply kissed, until Kairi fell asleep in Sora's arms. Mere moments later, he too was asleep.

**KH**

_**Two years later…**_

Sora stood in front of the gigantic Twilight Town crowd and smiled. "Before I go, I just wanna say something real quick."

The crowd's cheers died down.

"Thank you. Now, two years ago, I met a cleaner in the office of my record label. This cleaner was singing a version of a Moogles song as she worked, and boy, did she have a voice. I asked her if she wanted to help me write a duet, and she agreed… And thank God she did. I don't know what I would've done if she'd said no."

The crowd laughed.

"Anyway, after we finished the song, we…got a little romantic." He chuckled wryly. "That's why I quit Wark, not some dispute with the boss of it. See? You really can't trust the gossip magazines all the time."

There was a titter of laughter from parts of the crowd.

"Have you guys figured out who I'm talking about yet?"

"YES!" the crowd shouted.

"Well then, call her out here!"

"KAIRI!" they roared.

He grinned from ear to ear. "Kai, get out here!"

Smiling shyly, Kairi popped out from backstage and kissed him in front of the crowd, causing some audience members to growl in resentment, and others to croon "Awww…"

"Kairi…" Sora started, clutching her hands. "Two years ago, you gave me the one thing I'd always wanted, but could never get… A beautiful girl who's not afraid to be herself, and loves me for me."

She giggled.

"Which is why…" He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small, fabric-covered box. He got down on one knee and opened it; inside was a gold ring that was covered in diamonds.

"Kairi Branford… Will you please, please, PLEASE…marry me?"

Kairi did not hesitate. "Yes!"

The entire crowd roared in approval as Sora slipped the ring on her finger. The roar became even louder as he embraced his new fiancée.

"Thank you all for everything! I love you!" he shouted to the crowd as he and Kairi walked off the stage.

_**I don't really like the ending, nor do I like the 'sudden hook-up', but there was nowhere else to go with it, because of how I'd written it.**_

_**Anyway… REVIEW!**_


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